1. The New York Times profiled go-getter Jessica Stockton Bagnulo today. The Fort Greene Retail Association threw her a fundraising party recently, where neighbors as well as authors were in attendance. She’s also gained a partner–Rebecca Fitting, a 34-year-old sales representative for Random House. I can’t wait to see their store one day!
2. Bookselling This Week has written about the scholarships we finagled out of Ingram for Emerging Leaders in bookselling to go to the Winter Institute. I visited Ingram in August and left very impressed with both their operation and the people that work for them. I’m truly excited that we can now offer six scholarships to young booksellers for such a great educational opportunity.

I got back from the Berkshires last Friday, but extended my vacation all through the weekend. It was all very relaxing, though I didn’t read as many books as I expected. Nonetheless, we had a great time out there, eating and drinking at many great restaurants, reading by a beautiful waterfall, hiking around the same woods as Thoreau once did. I have to also mentioned the fantastic Jenny Holzer exhibit at MASS MoCA, which was truly unusual and thought provoking.

Tomorrow I turn 33 years old. It’s a strange number. According to Wikipedia, “this number has the meaning that good will always triumph over evil”. Hah! Maybe this is my year. Maybe it means Obama will win the election in November!

Our regional trade show starts on Thursday and continues through Saturday. I’ll be there, not near a computer, so that means another week of silence. Monday life returns to a more normal pace finally. So expect more posting and commentary on books then.

On Wednesday night, Junot Diaz read a brand new short story to a packed house at the Brattle Theater here in Cambridge. You can hear a podcast here. Also, Henry Jenkins, an MIT professor, has posted a geek quiz based on references from The  Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Haven’t had a chance to take the quiz myself (I’m about 2 hours away from vacation) but I bet I’ll score big.

• The Washington Post has a pretty thorough Fall Books Preview.
• What happens when a philanthropist takes on the downtown of Nantucket? The wife of Google CEO has decided to pour money into the decaying downtown. Is this good or bad?
• The shortlist for the John Sargent Sr. First Novel Prize, awarded by the Mercantile Library Center for Fiction, has been announced. It’s a good looking list. The prize will be awarded by last year’s winner Junot Diaz, whom incidentally gave a great reading last night.
• The Quartlerly Conversation has entered its fourth year with its latest issue.
• Two brand new Robert Birnbaum conversations, this time with Robert Stone and with Elizabeth Strout.
• Joshua Henkin, author of Matrimony, is guest blogging over at The Elegant Variation.
• Mr. Bookdwarf’s letter to the editor got published!